The present invention is directed to air conditioners and, more particularly, to the configuration of a control box door and/or fairing for the front grille of a room air conditioner.
Air conditioning units such as so-called "window room air conditioners" are commonly used for residential and similar applications and generally include closed refrigeration circuits having an evaporator and a condenser. The unit is normally divided by a partition into an evaporator section and a condenser section. The evaporator section communicates with the room air to be conditioned and the condenser section communicates with external air such as outdoor air. Refrigerant flows through a refrigerant circuit absorbing heat from room air at the evaporator and discharging heat energy to the external air at the condenser. The conventional refrigeration circuit is completed by the addition of a compressor, an expansion device, and the appropriate connections between the components.
Such an air conditioning unit usually includes a basepan supporting all of the components and an outer housing surrounding the entire unit. The front of the evaporator, or indoor section, includes an indoor grille, which has openings therein for directing warm indoor air into the evaporator and discharge openings therein for directing air back into the room. The indoor grille also includes a region therein wherein the control panel for the air conditioner unit is located.
It is common practice for a basic window room air conditioner unit to have different types of controls associated therewith. More specifically, it is not unusual for the same basic unit to have electromechanical controls, which may include manually actuatable rotary function switches and thermostats, or an electronic control which may include touch sensitive surface switches or infrared-type sensors actuatable by a remote control device. Regardless of the type of controls, it is sometimes desirable to provide a cover for the control components to improve the aesthetic appearance of the air conditioning unit. Alternatively, in electronic control panel design where an infrared remote control must be able to "see" the control panel, a door is not desired.
Because the control panel openings are located in the air conditioners front grille, providing alternative front grille configurations, i.e. with and without a door requires investment in the tooling for making two different grilles. Typically, such grilles may comprise a major one-piece component which is formed from a molded plastic material and the cost of fabricating two different molds would be extremely expensive and not cost effective. Accordingly, it is deemed desirable to have a single grille frame, which can provide both open control box access and a door closing the control box opening while still presenting an aesthetically pleasing grille configuration.